There are many approaches to strength and conditioning and all have them have probably worked at one point in time, in some capacity, with some person (or group of people).
Over the past few weeks I have had a number of questions regarding the assessment process for training clients. Many in the profession are currently very focused on assessment and trying to make sense of all the information getting passed around on various internet forums, websites, and seminars. Others are not “buying it” and would rather just allow people to train and pay no attention to screening their clients prior to beginning a strength and conditioning program (I do however think many of those in the “not buying it” circle do use some form of assessment, but are just arguing to argue or would rather nit-pick semantics).
I was recently asked “Why bother with an assessment? Every workout is an assessment. Doesn’t that tell you all you need to know?”
I’ll start by saying I feel this is a valid statement and I cannot disagree, every workout really is an assessment. However, with regard to having a scripted assessment prior to initiating training, my stance is that I would rather be proactive than reactive.
The screen prior to training offers a few key benefits:
- Pain – An assessment, performed with nothing more than body weight, looks at basic movement patterns and allows us to get a feeling for whether or not the individual has pain. Often times clients/athletes will forget to tell you about a surgery, an injury (previous or recent), or something that has been nagging them for the past few weeks. Once you get them moving, it tends to jog their memory and they start to mention things that they may have otherwise not told you. Additionally, if for whatever reason the individual has pain when performing any of the assessment movements that is a big red flag as far as bringing that painful pattern to a (loaded) training environment.
- Starting point – Not everyone will have the same abilities, and a proper assessment helps to determine what the appropriate starting point, with regard to exercise, is for each person. If we were to just go in and start training without an assessment we are making a big assumption that back squats, or deadlifts, or power cleans, will be okay for everyone. Some clients/athletes may have restrictions in mobility or asymmetrical movement that will prevent competent movement in those lifts and potentially make performing them an accident waiting to happen.
- Progress – If the client/athlete does have something that can be improved upon (IE, movement capacity is lower than desired), the only way to know if they are ready for progression is to re-test the pattern(s) that were problematic to assess whether or not our current exercise program is “getting the job done”. If changes are less than desired, we may need to make changes to the program and explore a different path to make sure we get what we want.
The main reason that I have an assessment process is that I don’t want to let things slide by (if I can help it) and have a setback in training. The argument that “the body is smarter than we give it credit for and if we just move it will know what do to”, doesn’t sit well with me. The body is smarter than we give it credit for and can find ways to work around our limitations and perform the movement that we are asking it to perform, even if it does so in a less than optimal way.
I’d rather be proactive and look at things from the get-go than bereactive and look at those same things only when something goes wrong.